York boards among conservation leaders

Happy with progress

Michael Barrett

Aurora’s Windfall Ecology’s executive director Brent Kopperson is encouraged by the progress made by York Region’s two school boards when it comes to energy conservation. Spokespeople for both boards say their schools are ahead of the curve when it comes to energy conservation.

York Region’s school boards promote a culture of conservation and focus on energy and money savings, representatives of the boards and a leading advocate for sustainable communities said.
They were responding to a call by an independent environmental watchdog for schools to adopt these strategies.
York Catholic District School Board environmental and office services senior manager Norm Vézina applauded recommendations tabled by Ontario environmental commissioner Gord Miller at Queen’s Park Tuesday.
Mr. Miller released Volume 2 of his 2011 annual energy conservation progress report, which reviews reductions in energy use, increases in energy efficiency and the progress and barriers to energy conservation.
Volume 1 was released last June.
York Region District School Board plant services superintendent Margaret Roberts endorsed Mr. Miller’s stand that there is great potential for savings in improving the energy efficiency of schools and that energy is one of the few expenses that can be reduced without having an impact on the learning environment.
The report found almost $340 million is spent in Ontario to provide heat and power to public schools.
It stated the government had to abandon its goal of reducing school energy use by 10 per cent because some schools could not measure energy use.
As a result, the province launched a utility consumption database to collect information on the amount of electricity and gas used by every public school.
It’s a well-known maxim that you can’t manage what you don’t measure, Mr. Miller said.
Mr. Vézina, who assumed the Catholic board’s energy portfolio in 2000, agreed.
The board put a strategy in place involving new systems, software, retrofits and attitude, he said.
The region’s 88 elementary and 16 secondary schools and main education centre have reduced electricity and natural gas consumption by 45 per cent.
In the past 12 years, the board avoided $17.75 million in energy costs; $2.2 million in 2012 alone.
The York Catholic board is recognized as one of the leading energy-efficient boards in Ontario, Mr. Vézina said.
The goal is to strive and get even better, he said, adding they would like to reduce energy by 50 per cent by the end of the year.
New designs and equipment are part of the equation.
Conservation awareness among staff and students drives the initiative.
The board’s energy champion program and lunchtime electricity demand reduction challenge are working exceedingly well, he said.
Monitors in each school display average energy demand in real time.
Students are asked to turn off lights, use natural window illumination and conserve power at every turn.
The results are posted at 1 p.m. each day and students vie to be among the top 10 energy-saving schools in the system.
“The reward is recognition,” Mr. Vézina said.
The public board’s 200 schools and administrative buildings employ a similar system, Ms Roberts said.
The Carma program monitors electricity usage and reports data back to staff and students.
It’s part of the board’s “triangle of conservation”, comprising building design and operation and human behaviour, she said.
In seven years since launching the program, the public board’s square footage has increased 17 per cent and electricity usage has declined 11.5 per cent, Ms Roberts said.
The next challenge is water reduction, she added.
“The more money we save means more funding can go into classroom programs rather than into walls,” she said.
Ms Roberts and Mr. Vézina share usage data and best practices with peer boards and community partners.
Mr. Vézina is chairperson of the Ontario Association of School Business Officials energy conservation sub-committee.
Aurora-based Windfall Ecology Centre executive director Brent Kopperson lauded Mr. Miller’s report and the efforts by the school boards.
He is also encouraged by the recommendations and quality of the commissioner’s work, he said.
“They are holding the government and policy makers accountable,” he said. “Without this office, many issues would be skipped.”
Specifically, Mr. Kopperson agreed with the strategy of protecting and sustaining, saying it’s easier to conserve than create.
While there are significant advances, much remains to be done, Mr. Kopperson said, citing how the report shows Ontario’s policies are inconsistent.
You can download the environmental commissioner’s 2011 annual energy conservation progress report (volume two) at eco.on.ca.